A Grand Adventure - Day 2 (Hoover, Walmart, and the South Rim)

A Grand Adventure - Day 2
(Hoover Dam, Walmart, and the Mather Campground)

Tuesday, June 13 2017 


With the time change, everyone woke up pretty early in Las Vegas and started packing up to go.  We knew space would be at a premium in the vans so we had decided to put everything we wouldn't need until the end of the trip into our checked suit case and then leave it at the front desk on the hotel where they would keep it until we returned. (Thanks, Luxor!) We took another Uber to the campervan place which was just a few miles away.

At the Escape Campervans office we signed all of the paperwork, and they reminded us to do our best not to get any speeding or parking tickets while we were on our tour of the area.  The employee motioned to a huge stack of tickets on the floor that they were going through (to which they added an additional $45 charge to the fines).

 

Next came our tour of the camper vans.  We were excited to find out which vans we would be driving and scoped out the lot for some of the coolest designs.

 

The guy who showed us how everything worked was very nice and was kind of the laid back adventure-type you expected to be working at a place like this.

 

Before we knew it, we were packed and on the road.  First stop: Hoover Dam. 

Before you can approach Hoover Dam you go through a security checkpoint where you must pull off for an inspection.  The camper van place had already told us they would ask us to pop up the bed and may need to look around the van, too.  It didn't take too long, fortunately.  We chose not to drive over the bridge for the dam itself because we had heard that the traffic there gets really backed up and there wasn't much parking.  Instead, we parked above the dam and walked to a different bridge that gave an excellent view.

selfie time!

This was our first time where we noticed the high number of foreign travelers on the trip.  I would estimate that more than half of the people who we saw visiting from this point were foreign.  The most common foreign languages we heard being spoken were Japanese, Chinese, German, and French.  We also noticed that many Asian people hated being in the sun.  They hid from it by using umbrellas, by being overdressed for the temperature, and even by holding sweatshirts over their heads.

I had never been to Hoover Dam, but Jen was there when she took a huge family trip out west in 1988.  Back then she said anybody could walk in and around the dam.  Today, with all of the security and safety issues, this has obviously changed a lot.  Now, I think you need to pay $10 per person to park at the visitor's center and anywhere from $12-$30 for a tour of the dam.  (We're too cheap for that.)

It is an impressive piece of engineering!

As we got back on the road we came across a huge convoy of tanks and other military vehicles.  We were hoping nothing was going on militarily that we had missed on the news.

 

The people at Escape Campervan had recommended stopping at the super Walmart in Kingman, Arizona for food and other supplies.  The people you see in Walmart are always interesting wherever you go - this one was no exception.

On the way in, Greg witnessed a Walmart employee in front of the store towing his oxygen tank and eating a corn dog.  While shopping, a leathery man dressed in dusty overalls and a cowboy hat walked up to us and asked us which way to the front of store.  I also saw several people with their concealed carry not so concealed including a man with a pistol dangling out of his front pants pocket.  Greg and Luke noticed a man with a cart full of enough Sangria and raw chicken to feed and intoxicate a small army. 

Originally, we had planned to stop in Peach Springs to eat lunch and visit the largest underground dry cavern in the US. 

Looks cool - but we'll have to catch it next time

Peach Spring is on historic Route 66 and is the town that Radiator Springs from the movie cars was supposed to be patterned after.

 

But, we were hungry and decided to just eat in Kingman since there were plenty of options there.  We also wanted to be sure to get to the campground before it got dark.

Our destination was Mather Campground which is the closest and most accessible campground to the south rim of the Grand Canyon.  The total drive was from Vegas probably around 6 or 7 hours hours including stopping for Hoover Dam, gas, shopping and lunch.  With all of our stops, we didn't get to the campground until around 7 PM.  The check-in rangers did a quick group talk to big group of  campers that seemed to arrive at the same time as us.

Everywhere we camp, there is always some kind of pesky, opportunistic critter that you need to be warned about.  In Yellowstone and the Smokies, it is the bears, obviously.  In Colorado, it was Elk (and bears, though they were rare).  In most places out east it is smaller animals like raccoons, squirrels, deer, or skunks.

 

So what was the campground pest here?  Ravens.  Ravens?  That's right, giant, crows on steroids, ravens.  When I saw one by the side of the road driving in, it was so big I thought it was a buzzard.  They were so large that they often hopped instead of walking.  And when they did walk, it was a kind of strut where each shoulder would heave up and down almost like muscle-bound tough guy walking to show off.  What?  You looking at me?

We were also told they were attracted to anything shiny and have been known to pick up car keys or even cell phones.  The rangers cautioned us not to leave garbage hanging on a tree as they soon become what they called "a raven pinata."

After getting our camp etiquette pep talk, we pulled into our campsite and set up the beds for the first time.  Easy Peasy.  All set-up in 5 minutes or less.  Sites at Mather were pretty nice with decent shade from the sparse evergreens.  The terrain was both rocky and sandy.

We then explored the campground a little.  There were pretty nice fairly clean bathrooms, but no free showers.  Showers cost $2 for 8 minutes and were located near the entrance to the campground about a 10 minute walk from us.

The temperature was supposed to drop into the low 40's that night so we all bundled up.  Jen and Mikah were sleeping together on top while Rogan and I would sleep below.

We all woke up in the middle of the night shivering with cold.  I actually put on a couple more layers at 2 in the morning to try to warm up.  The girls up top were even colder than Rogan and I as they had a fairly skimpy blanket and very little insulation value in that tent.  Cuddling for warmth was essential to survive that first night.

It reminded me of this awkward scene from the movie Without a Paddle.

 

"What happens in the cave, stays in the cave."

Tomorrow we see the Grand Canyon for the first time.